"Factor T' at Fringe Festival

When a dancer asserts an idea in the program notes, and that idea is executed beautifully in performance, but the idea is not quite true, or even false –– has that artist succeeded or failed? That’s my question for Factor T, as performed by Poland’s Dada von Bzdülöw Theatre.

Factor T. Dada von Bzdülöw Theatre of Poland. Directed by Laszek Bzdyl; music by Mikolaj Trzaska. Through September 7, 2008 at Christ Church Neighbor

Steve Antinoff

Sep 13, 2008 · Articles · 5 minute read

Pink Hair Affair's "oOOoOoOo'

Pink Hair Affair’s sophomore effort at the Fringe Festival offered nine works— most of them playful, some of them breathtaking and ethereal. What the evening lacked was a unifying vision.

oOOoOoOo. Presented by Pink hair Affair through September 13, 2008 at Susan Hess Dance Studio, 2030 Sansom St. www.livearts-fringe.org/2008/details.cfm?id=5483

Jim Rutter

Sep 13, 2008 · Articles · 4 minute read

Erica Saben's "Inside' at Fringe Festival

How can a body seem alive without moving? Through the demonic negation in her eyes, Erica Saben discloses her “Inside,” the title of her piece. This interiority has a voltage; it is charged, in her case, with psychic danger.

InFlux. Works in Progress by Mascher Space Cooperative, including “Inside,” by Erica Saben. August 29-31, 20087 at Arts Bank, 601 S. Broad St. www

Steve Antinoff

Sep 08, 2008 · Articles · 4 minute read

Live Arts Festival's "Sea of Birds'

Sebastienne Mundheim’s Sea of Birds is a remarkable collaboration of music, dance, puppetry, theater, video— and engineering, too.

Sea of Birds. Created and directed by Sebastienne Mundheim; score by James Sugg; choreographed by Kate Watson-Wallace. September 2, 2008 at Ice Box Projects Space, 1400 N. American St. www.livearts-fringe.org/2008/details.cfm?id=2882

Lesley Valdes

Sep 07, 2008 · Articles · 1 minute read

Nichole Canuso's "Wandering Alice'

Normally, I dislike performances that ask the audience to join in. With Wandering Alice, we never feel manipulated or imposed-upon. Rather, we feel liberated.

Wandering Alice. Written, directed and choreographed by Nichole Canuso with Suli Holum. Nichole Canuso Dance Company presentation through September 13, 2008 at Christ Church Neighborhood House, 20 N. American St. (215) 413-1318 or www.livearts-fringe.org

Steve Cohen

Sep 02, 2008 · Articles · 4 minute read

Headlong's "Hotel Pool' in New York

Thanks to Headlong Dance Theater’s New York revival of its 2004 aqua dream play, Hotel Pool, we now have an alternative vision for the Michael Phelps Beijing pool experience, as well as, perhaps, an awareness of how the potential for sensual and pleasurable experiences can be denied amid the demands of commerce and competition.

Hotel Pool. Headlong Dance Theater presentation through August 16, 2008 at Rector Square, New York. (215) 545-1995 or

Jonathan M. Stein

Aug 19, 2008 · Articles · 3 minute read

Ballet X: Female Choreographers

For its “All Female Choreographers Project,” Ballet X commissioned new works by three women. Unfortunately, as Ballet X’s co-director Christine Cox acknowledged during the post-performance talkback, good women choreographers (other than herself) are hard to find.

All Female Choreographers Project: Still Life, by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa; Numb Roads, by Christine Cox; Union, by Helen Pickett. Presented by Ballet X through July 27 at Th

Jim Rutter

Jul 26, 2008 · Articles · 7 minute read

The dancing orphans of Rwanda

The contemporary Philadelphia choreographer Rebecca Davis recently spent four weeks teaching dance steps to street orphans in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, a suffering land known mostly for its 1994 genocide. To her surprise, she discovered a passion for dance that transcends anything found among American teenagers. “These kids taught me that dance has the power to change lives even in the most difficult of circumstances,” she contends.

Rebecca Davis

Jul 20, 2008 · Articles · 6 minute read

"In Memory of the Deathtrap,' by Pink Hair Aff

Pink Hair Affair’s Deathtrap portrays nine women inhabiting a real crumbling house on Christian Street— a site reflecting the structure of emotional lives equally in need of repair.

In Memory of the Deathtrap. Directed by Anne MacGillivray Wilson. Presented June 28-29, 2008 at 2133 Christian St. by Pink Hair Affair. pinkhairaffair.com.

Jim Rutter

Jul 08, 2008 · Articles · 5 minute read

Kip Martin's "Namja Yoja' at UArts

Namja Yoja clearly lies in the dance theater tradition—just minus the dance. Choreographer Kip Martin needs to figure out how to integrate into his storylines the vivid choreography of which he’s capable.

Namja Yoja. Choreography by Kip Martin. June 13-14, 2008 at the UArts Dance Theatre at the Drake, 1512 Spruce St. (267) 269-5986 or www.dancewellness.com.

Jim Rutter

Jun 17, 2008 · Articles · 5 minute read